Based on the comic book series of the same name, the show follows deputy sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) as he travels around post-apocalypse Georgia looking for his missing wife and child. Injured in a police shoot-out prior to the zombie outbreak, Grimes wakes up in a hospital bed to find his world completely gone to hell. Dead and devoured bodies litter the hallways. Ominous warnings written in blood line the walls. As Grimes leaves the hospital, still in his gown, the camera pans out to reveal hundreds upon hundreds of bodies lined up in rows, victims of the zombie holocaust. And this is only the first 15 minutes.
Along the way he finds other survivors, each one desperately trying to escape a seemingly inevitable doom. A separate subplot follows Grimes' wife, son and a group of refugees holed up in a secluded encampment.
"Walking Dead" borrows heavily from the classic zombie films of the 1960s and '70s, most notably George Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" (1968) and "Dawn of the Dead" (1978). Here, you'll find none of those fast-moving, screaming, psycho-zombies that you see in all the new undead movies like "28 Days Later" (2002) and "I Am Legend" (2007) only slow, shambling flesh-eaters need apply. Like the classic films, "Walking Dead" also opens in an ambiguous stretch of "real America," with endless farmland and small, one-horse towns.
Although one wouldn't expect any panache from a cable show about zombies, "Walking Dead" most notably impresses with its solid computer-generated effects and makeup. While I expected campy, SyFy channel-quality visuals, "Walking Dead" features makeup and effects approaching movie quality. Blood and guts are in ample supply, and the show's makeup artists successfully capture the ghastliness of the undead.
Garnering over five million viewers during its premiere, "Walking Dead" has made a huge impression on the execs at AMC, who have already ordered a second season of the show.
With almost limitless possibilities for storylines, "Walking Dead" could very well be a mainstay on cable television for years to come. A possible Emmy-contender in the eyes of this reviewer, AMC's new show is a must-see. I, for one, have already turned out the lights, locked the door and crawled under my covers. It's time for episode two.
